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Armageddon (2002)
Armageddon (2002) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and took place on December 15, 2002, at the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was the third Armageddon event and included talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The main match on the Raw brand was a Three Stages of Hell match for the World Heavyweight Championship between champion Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The first match was a Street Fight, which Triple H won after performing a Pedigree. The second match was a Steel cage match, which Michaels won by pinfall after jumping off the top of the steel cage onto Triple H through a table. The third and final match was a Ladder match, which Triple H won after retrieving the belt suspended above the ring. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was The Big Show versus Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Angle won the match and the WWE Championship after pinning Big Show following interference from Brock Lesnar. One of the primary matches on the undercard was Chris Benoit versus Eddie Guerrero, which Benoit won by forcing Guerrero to submit with the Crippler Crossface. Storylines The main feud heading into Armageddon on the Raw brand was between Shawn Michaels and Triple H, with the two feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. At SummerSlam on August 25, Michaels defeated Triple H in an unsanctioned street fight after pinning him with a jackknife hold. Three months later at Survivor Series, Michaels won an Elimination Chamber match, by last eliminating Triple H, to win the World Heavyweight Championship, his first world title since 1998. On the November 25 episode of Raw, Michaels made his first successful title defense against Rob Van Dam after interference from Triple H. On the December 2 episode of Raw, Triple H defeated Rob Van Dam in a number one contender's match with Michaels as the special guest referee, earning a championship match against Michaels at Armageddon. Afterwards, the two brawled with one another, ending with Michaels nailing Triple H with Sweet Chin Music. The next week on Raw, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff announced that the match between the two at Armageddon would be a Three Stages of Hell match, where the first fall would be a street fight, the second fall would be a steel cage match, and the third fall would be a ladder match. Later on that night, after Triple H defeated Jeff Hardy, Triple H and Ric Flair attacked Hardy until Michaels came out to fend off both men. Moments later, Flair informed Michaels that if he didn't pass the torch at Armageddon, Triple H would "kill him", taking the most coveted trophy in the business from him. Towards the end of the show, Michaels attacked Triple H and Flair with a shovel outside the arena. Michaels then hit Triple H with a trash can, causing him to fall into a dumpster. Shortly after, Michaels climbed to the top of a trailer and jumped off onto Triple H, sending a clear message toward their title match at Armageddon. The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between The Big Show and Kurt Angle, with the two battling over the WWE Championship. The previous month at Survivor Series, Big Show challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. During the match, when Lesnar tried to pin Big Show to retain the title, his manager Paul Heyman turned on him, pulling the referee out of the ring, allowing Big Show to chokeslam Lesnar onto a steel chair and win the championship, handing him his first pinfall loss in WWE. On the November 21 episode of SmackDown!, Lesnar checked the locker room to look for Big Show and Heyman until Matt Hardy insulted Lesnar about his loss at Survivor Series. Lesnar responded by throwing him through the wall. Moments later, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon informed Lesnar that he wouldn't get his rematch for the WWE Championship until his ribs, that were still injured when Big Show tossed him off the stage two weeks previously on SmackDown!, were healed. She then stated that she would suspend Lesnar if he would lay his hands on Heyman, Big Show or any other SmackDown! superstar. During the segment between Heyman and Big Show, Heyman explained that Lesnar would not get a rematch, as per a special clause that he snuck into his contract. Shortly after, Lesnar went after the two with a steel chair and nailed Big Show with it. Later that night, Big Show defended his title against Edge, which ended in a no-contest when Heyman interfered. Afterwards, Lesnar came to the ring, gave Big Show an F-5 and then chased Heyman backstage until Heyman took off in a limousine. The following week on SmackDown!, McMahon suspended Lesnar for ignoring her orders twice the previous week. Later that night, Lesnar would still come out and hit an F-5 on Big Show through the announce table, then once again tried to go after Heyman until McMahon brought officers out to get Lesnar out of the arena. On the December 5 edition of SmackDown!, Angle defeated Edge, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero in a fatal four-way elimination match to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship at Armageddon. Shortly after the match ended, Big Show, accompanied by Heyman, came out and chokeslammed Angle. The next week on SmackDown!, Angle interrupted Lesnar's autograph session to inform Lesnar that he would get his suspension lifted if Lesnar helped him defeat Big Show at Armageddon, with Lesnar saying he would think about it. However, McMahon reminded Big Show and Heyman that Lesnar's suspension had been lifted. Later that night, Big Show and A-Train defeated Angle and Edge in a tag team match when Big Show pinned Angle after Heyman distracted him. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Armageddon Category:Armageddon Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2002 Pay-Per-View Events